I'd like to think the best of me is still hiding up my sleeve
by syllablesandbreaths
Summary: As Stuart ventures in Google for the internship of his life, he meets Mikaela. Mikaela, 21, had started out as a Noogler 4 years back, and might just be the one to bring Stuart's attention back to Earth. Also, the writer is terrible at summaries. :) Stuart/OC
1. Chapter 1

**_Author's Note:  
** STORY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS **_**

_Now that that's out of the way… Hi! This is syllablesandbreaths, and thank you for clicking into this story! Just a heads up, I try not to quote exactly from movies due to personal preference, and as such, the storyline may or may not be different from the actual movie. Do leave your comments so I know what you think!_

_I also, do not own any of the characters apart from my OC, Mikaela Kaitlyn Marshall. Information provided (about Google, etc.) may not be accurate, please do not regard them more than just a detail in the story. :)_

_Thank you!_

* * *

**Third Person POV**

"… Are you sure, Mr. Chetty? They didn't seem like your usual choice of Nooglers." The brunette spoke up as the room was cleared from the members of the Internship Program Committee. "You weren't my usual choice either." The dark haired man turned, the left corner of his lips tilted upwards as he turned to face his colleague, before continuing with a slight shrug. "It would be a test. We shall see where Lyle's sense of judgement would lead them." Turning back on his heels, the older male briskly left the meeting room with his head held high. The silence of the room was broken by a soft chuckle that resonated from the 21 year old brunette; her hands grabbed the documents before following suit.

"Lyle's sense of judgement when _you_ were the deciding vote? Oh, Mr Chetty. As stubborn to admit taking a leap of faith as always, huh?"

**Stuart's POV**

**1 Text Message Received.  
[Open] [Close]**

***Open***

**Good luck on your internship, my Stewy!  
I know you will make your Dad and I proud.  
We are already so proud of you, too! 3**

**MUMMY LOVES YOU.  
[Reply] [Close] [Delete]**

***Delete***

**Message deleted.**

Another day, another text that would have killed my social life if anyone were to find it. Well, to clarify, it wasn't like I had much of one to begin with – unless we were bringing Facebook into the matter. Ever since I had broken the news to the folks on not returning home for the summer, texts like these had been coming in on a daily basis. It started out as calls, filled with tears of supposed joy and cheesy lines you could expect from a 80s film. Mum calmed down, albeit in the slightest way possible, but she had turned to texting. She had been my countdown clock for me, though I could've done that on my phone anyway.

My fingers fiddled with the sleek interface of the gadget in my hands as the bus pulled over, revealing the magnificent structure that was Google Headquarters. My hand tugged on the luggage, taking in every inch of the environment as I could before my arrival to the registration counter.

I was a geek.

There was a reason why I was doing here in the first place, besides my intellectual abilities, obviously. But was I going to serve it on a silver platter for the fellow students to label me as they wished? No.

The process at the counter was swift despite the overflowing number of interns in the building. See, _this_ is the beauty of technology. Depositing my bag in the room assigned, my fingers intuitively checked in on FourSquare, checking updates on Instagram between the ten minutes that was spent in the process of registration. My feet brought itself to the direction of the assembly point before halting abruptly to the sound of squeaking from a female specie, and the contact of my chest to her shoulders. Documents which were undoubtedly in neat stacks were now spread around us in a sea of mess.

My hands reached down to grab the pieces that were within my diameter before frantically checking the time on my phone. Only two minutes to get to the assembly point now.

**Mikaela's POV**

Today was just not my day.

Actually, you know what? Every Noogler's program for the past four years had _not_ been my day. Those computer geeks (yes, I know I'm one too) that spent way too long to get out of my way; busy ogling at the building, at their phones, at girls. My eyes rolled in annoyance as I stepped past a pair of older males, deep in discussion on the free cafeteria food that they were able to snagged before they were due to gather at the assembly point.

Stacks of program information were in my arms, with not one gentleman in sight to provide the slightest assistance. Honestly, I'm no supermodel, but I am a lady still. Rushing through the impossible crowd were tough enough as it is without the load, imagine me with it. And I only have three minutes to get there now. Oh scratch that. Two minutes.

"Oof!" The contact on my right shoulder resulted in flailing arms and flying papers. Papers flying in all directions. Papers that were supposed to be gathered and sent to the exact same assembly point in two minutes. Papers that… Surprisingly, were getting picked up by the culprit of the matter.

My eyes glanced up at the boy as my hands busied itself in gathering the documents. An intern. For sure. Letting out a soft sigh, I took the papers from his hands before waving him off. "Go on. I can do this by myself." His eyes darted, from the papers to me, then to the direction of the assembly point. His mouth opening to speak, before closing again when the words wouldn't spill. "You only have a minute left. First impressions are important, you know? Now go, before I change my mind."

**Stuart's POV**

I didn't have to be told twice. At her confirmation, a soft mutter of apology escaped me as I sprinted to the hall. Slowing down as I approached the venue, taking a seat near the middle.

"Welcome to Google!"

The booming voice brought my attention away from my phone (totally not trying to stalk the previous girl on Facebook), a small smile crept up on my face in excitement before covering it up with my hands in an attempt to look inconspicuous. My hands were checking the email Mr. Chetty had mentioned when I caught a familiar figure scurrying in from the corner of my eyes.

"And this is a prime example of what NOT to do at Google. Disrupting an important announcement. Isn't that right, Ms. Marshall?" The girl from before flashed a sarcastic smile before distributing the documents down the rows.

"What Ms Marshall is sending down now, are documents that you should read prior to the grouping. They are hints to the challenges that you may, or may not, be facing during your stay here."

By now, my voice had blocked out most of the information that was just conveyed, as Ms Marshall stood beside me. "Hey, I'm really sorry about before." I quickly started, taking a glance at the Head of Program before passing the documents down the line.

"Oh? Oh, it's you! Don't worry about it, always proud to be a prime example of something… Stuart." Her hand took hold of my pass, tilting her head as she gave a small smile before proceeding on.

This day sure had started out interesting.

* * *

**_Author's Note:_**

_Hi! It's me… AGAIN! This is a rather filler chapter just to introduce the character. Mikaela and Stuart will be far off from being so civil towards each other… Probably. Let me know what you think so far? :)_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Author's Note:  
** STORY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS **  
_**_I do not own any of the characters apart from my OC, Mikaela Kaitlyn Marshall. Information provided (about Google, etc.) may not be accurate, please do not regard them more than just a detail in the story. :)_

_Thank you!_

* * *

**Mikaela's POV**

Watching the chaos that was the grouping of interns could be ever so entertaining. Being involved as a Noogler and now overlooking the process after years in the job, had been refreshing. It was truly the first step to seeing a person's true colours. That was why Mr. Chetty had been keeping a keen eye on the process while I was lazing on the couch that faced the frenzied Nooglers. The motive for my presence in this year's Noogler's program had still been a mystery to everyone but the decision maker. The projects I'm involved in were coincidentally rearranged perfectly to fit this in my schedule.

" , I don't have… a team." Lyle's voice was enough to break through my train of thoughts as I made my way to the pair. My eyes widened at the words from the older male. "Wait, what? Lyle is managing the leftovers? That's not fair." The terror in Lyle's eyes didn't help with my protest as his owl-like stare urged me to stop and run while I could. Lyle and I had started our career in Google at the same time… almost. I was a Noogler, he was… Speaking of which, how _did_ he get into Google? I've got to remember to ask him later. Anyway, main point was that we were close friends.

"Well. Lyle's a first time manager; he's already at a disadvantage, grouping him with th-" Oh. Uh oh. No good. Mr Chetty's amused expression told me he had anticipated the exact situation. He knew this was going to happen the moment he accepted the two sirs into the program. I mean. University of Phoenix? Who were they kidding?

"Since you have so kindly offered, you would be providing assistance to the group." My mouth was left hanging as I blinked once. Then twice. "W-what? Hold it. You planned this! I can't manage a group!" He was unfazed by my accusation, simply holding up his right hand, silencing my objections before continuing in a cool tone. Man, did I hate it when he does that. "You said it yourself, they were at a disadvantage. They have two charity cases that most probably know nothing about… Well, anything. Do you really want to see Lyle struggle and _fail_?"

"…That's emotional blackmail." My eyes narrowed as Lyle desperately pulled me away from the scene, setting me in front of Billy and Nick. It wasn't long before I pulled away from Lyle's nervous ramble. It was awkward, and I want no part of it.

"Ms Mikaela Kaitlyn Marshall?" The thick British accent sounded from beside, a tad too much if you asked me, but benefit of doubt, right? "That's me. And you are…?" With my hand outstretched in an instinctive corporate procedure, my eyes searched his for answers. "I'm Graham Hawtrey. Such a pleasure to meet you! You were employed into Google at the age of 17?! That's incredible. And was offered a scholarship?" By now my hands had retracted back to my sides, my eyes darted to Lyle for an escape at the commotion this guy had created on my behalf. It was even harder to miss the look of disgust plastered on Billy's face, which thankfully, was directed to the other party in question.

"Well, I…" I started, though not knowing what to respond first. The information on my journey with Google wasn't something that I had wanted to be announced to an entire fleet of Nooglers. Heck, I barely mentioned them at all to my colleagues. These things cause friction in relationships, comparisons would be made and the next thing you know, everything gets complicated. "Kaela's assisting my group in the process, because she's cool like a cucumber you know?" A terrible phrase like that would usually make me cringe visibly, but now relief was apparent as I cringed _inwardly_ instead.

Graham hadn't bothered covering his displeasure as he took a step towards me, a smirk decorating his face. "Assist them? Really? You know you can do better than that! Come on, join us instead! _I_ would make us the top group at the end of the internship." Confidence was something that he had enough to share across the cohort. Better yet, give them to his fellow group mate who was now munching on his fifth croissant. My eyes quirked as I took a step closer, tugging up his pass as I did. "Graham Hawtrey, huh. Well, if _you_ have the ability to bring your group to the top, surely you are too good to be in need of _my_ assistance." Letting go of his tag, my hand reached to give him a pat on the shoulder before walking off. "Good luck balancing that head on those shoulders, Graham. Let's go, guys."

There were times when I wished Lyle would stop talking, and there were times I wished he wouldn't. Today was one of the latter days. Eyes were on me as I fidgeted in the arm chair, uncomfortable with being the centre of attention after the previous display. "No one touches Lyle on my watch." Breaking my silence, a glare was sent in Stuart's way as he merely scoffed at the comeback. "Oh, really? _That's_ the first thing you say after muting yourself?" If looks could kill, and Stuart was a cat with nine lives, he would've died all nine times. "Yes, and I will say it again. No one touches Lyle, or I will hit you where it hurts."

…

"… WELL OKAY. My name is Neha…" The introductions continued and so did the tension in the room. Neha didn't help with her… cosplay talk, which had only managed to turn my face crimson red at the explanation and her… uh. Fantasies. Billy and Nick didn't help with their questions towards Yoyo, and Stuart didn't (pfft surprising? Think not.) with his constant need to argue with… females. Silence ensued once again as the attention returned to me.

"What? I was sure that Graham dude said everything you needed to know about me already." … "Okay. Fine. I'm Mikaela Kaitlyn Marshall. Been in Google the same time as Lyle, when I was 17, I-" "She was headhunted by Mr Chetty. Youngest intern he had ever employed." That proud smile of a father's had somehow found its way to Lyle as the curly haired boy interrupted my introduction. "Yea, well, didn't want to divulge _that_ information." A stern stare at the older male had him muttering a soft apology before I sighed in defeat. "Anyway, you guys can call me by my name or Micky, Kaela, KK, the nicknames are pretty endless and I'm generally fine with most of them. That's all."

"Well great. Translation lecture is up in 15, let's go Team Lyle!" Up until now, the greatest team spirit we have had was the united silence we hold towards Lyle.

* * *

**_Author's Note:_**

_Reviews, pretty please?  
Oh, and suttonsay, thank you for being my first reviewer! Have my eternal love. :)_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Author's Note:  
** STORY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS **_**

_I do not own any of the characters apart from my OC, Mikaela Kaitlyn Marshall. Information provided (about Google, etc.) may not be accurate, please do not regard them more than just a detail in the story. :)_

_Thank you!_

* * *

**Seating:  
| Yoyo | Lyle | Nick | Billy | Neha | Stuart | Mikaela | **

**Stuart's POV  
**Someone translate this lecture into something more interesting. That, or at least silence the people two seats down. The furious typing from my left was almost calming while my hands toyed with my phone, feeling it vibrate as a message notification flickered on my screen.

**1 Text Message Received.  
[Open] [Close]**

***Open***

**[Image of baby Stuart placed in front of the computer]**

**You didn't reply to my message, but look what I found!  
Mummy's little boy, doing what he does best.  
Still so proud, how is it so far? Met anyone yet?**

**[Reply] [Close] [Delete]**

My head lolled back at the last comment, silently groaning at my mum's never failing attempt to bring up my relationship status in our conversation. My fingers reached to the familiar delete icon – something that was instinctive when it comes to messages from my parents, before I even type out my reply. Only, this time, before my thumb could give a soft tap on the screen, my phone was tugged out of my hands, earning a Chromebook on my lap in exchange.

"Hey, give that back!" In harsh whisper, my hand reached out to Mikaela who had leaned back in retaliation, stretching the hand with my phone in it further away from my reach. "Not until the lecture is over. Seriously, you guys are the interns, why am I doing your work while your team manager is stalking the girl of his dreams. Now type." Her finger pointed to the laptop as my phone was brought to her lap. Her fingers visibly reaching for the lock button, before the unfortunate happened.

"Oh my go- Is this you? You were so cute!" She gushed, as quietly as her excitement could let her, while my face went into a dark shade of red. But wait, did she just… "Cute? You think I'm cute?" My fingers tapped furiously on the keyboard, taking note of the lecture while sparing glances to the girl beside. Her eyes rolled good-naturedly before hitting reply on my screen and started her own typing. What is she doing?! "Don't get ahead of yourself. I said 'were'. And… Yes, this is a great picture." My eyes darted up in time to see her lowering my phone, undoubtedly catching me on camera while my attention wasn't on her.

"Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to snap someone's photo without permission? And using their phones?" My hand swiftly reached up to the phone, passing the Chromebook to Neha as my eyes widened with the deed that was done. "Oops, too late." Mikaela, with her hair that smelled amazingly like flowers, leaned towards me as she peered over to look at the screen of the phone.

**[Image of current Stuart typing during Translate lecture]**

**Hi Mrs Twombly! Stuart, as you can see, is busy re-enacting his childhood right now!  
He's doing well, don't worry. And he's met loads of people here  
… Unless you meant it relationship interests wise. I would suggest you call him relentlessly on the latter.**

**[Reply] [Close] [Delete]**

"You know, you really shouldn't ignore messages from your mum." Mikaela teased further, leaning back in her chair in self-satisfaction, before throwing me a bashful grin. My eyes narrowed into near slits at the brunette before unlocking my phone, trying to salvage the situation of utmost embarrassment, even in the slightest. Of course, my parents had chosen a great timing to learn fast typing on the phone.

**1 Text Message Received.  
[Open] [Close]**

***Open***

**Oh my little Stewy! Thank you, my dear.  
Glad to know our Stewy is working hard and has met new friends. I will heed your advice for the relationships part.**

**(Stewy, when you see this, tell me who you had actually allowed to touch your phone! ;) )**

**[Reply] [Close] [Delete]**

The chuckle that sounded from beside me confirmed that Mikaela was reading the text with much more amusement than I did. "Awwww little Stewy." Her bottom lip stuck out in a pout (honestly, does this woman not know what doing that does to a man?) as she used the baby voice on me. "Shut up. Do NOT tell anyone about this or I will lock you in a room with Graham." My glare complement with the threat as I typed a quick response before any wild imaginations get the chance to develop further in the older woman's mind.

**She's no one, Mum.  
… And please, do NOT follow her senseless advice.**

**[Reply] [Close] [Delete]**

A side glance to the culprit of my turmoil and it had reconfirmed our love-hate relationship. The lady was infuriating, with her brains and mischief, and the fact that we could never have a proper conversation without bickering. Except for the first time we meet. But yet, there was something about her that was just undeniably attractive. Was it her hair? The way it cascades down her shoulders? Or the floral smell it brought? Or maybe, it has how the light hits her fa- "Take a picture, it will last longer." Her voice snapped me out of my analysis as her brown eyes meet mine. Her eyebrows quirked and arms rested lazily on her lap, leaning back in her seat.

In that moment, I could only blink. Saying it was awkward getting caught staring was an understatement, and it usually result to a foolish action. "I would. But I'm afraid my phone might break down from the mere image of a virus." Her laughter to my comment was surprising, and even more surprising as she stood from her seat, her head jerked towards the entrance. "Lecture ended. Let's go, big guy"

Walking past me, the girl slipped a soft whisper of "little Stewy" before turning back to face me, walking backwards as she did. The same cheeky grin decorated her face, against my annoyed one, a playful wink to show she had something to use against me before turning forward again. I watched as her right arm enveloped Lyle into a side hug and my mind was imprinted with the last image of her.

Damn, that wink.

**[1 Message Unread]**

**She? Her? OH MY, STEWY BABY. YOU MET A GIRL?  
HOW IS SHE LIKE? SHE SOUNDS NICE. IS SHE PRETTY?**

**… Call me!**

**[Reply] [Close] [Delete]**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_**

_I really hope whoever you are, you are liking the story so far.  
This is my first fanfiction ever, so any comments would really help me in knowing what you guys prefer and such._

_suttonsays: I can't express how much love I have for you and your comments. I THINK I got which part you were mentioning and tweaked it a bit. Hopefully it's clearer now. Thank you! _


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author's Note:  
** STORY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS **  
_**_I do not own any of the characters apart from my OC, Mikaela Kaitlyn Marshall. Information provided (about Google, etc.) may not be accurate, please do not regard them more than just a detail in the story. :)_

_Thank you!_

* * *

**Mikaela's POV**

Being on the internship program was tougher than I had expected, especially with the amount of projects I have already been put in. Although I must admit, this had been easier to juggle in comparison to when school term starts. Being in Stanford didn't qualify for me to slack off either, and with work on hand to complete, it could get crazy.

Right after the lecture (still pretty amused at the Stuart saga), one of my project team leaders had called for an emergency meeting in half an hour. Gathering my documents as soon as I could, I had only managed to locate Lyle with the three young interns before rushing off to the room. My phone that was tightly held in my hands vibrated just as I reached the building.

**1 New Friend Request.**

**Stuart Twombly  
[Confirm] [Not Now]**

***Confirm***

**Mikaela Marshall  
**Trying to stalk me, huh?

**Stuart Twombly  
**I'm sure that would be what you would like this to be.

**Mikaela Marshall  
**But of course, who wouldn't be ecstatic about _cute little Stewy_ stalking them?

**Stuart Twombly  
**…I am this close to giving Graham your number.

**Mikaela Marshall  
**First of all, you don't _have_ my number. Secondly… Who said he didn't have it already?

**Stuart Twombly  
**Wait, he doesn't, does he?

**Stuart Twombly  
**Kaela?

**Mikaela Marshall  
**Meeting started.

**Stuart Twombly  
**Damn it.

**THE NEXT DAY  
**_(still Mikaela's POV)_

It was a curse. That was my first thought when the challenge was issued, and everyone was doing their part to contribute for the task. Well, not _everyone._ "God, I feel like murdering someone right now." I muttered under my breath, trying with every inch of me to block the gibberish nonsense that the two idiots were rambling on about. "If you have decided on that, can pick one of the two as your target?" My eyes widened at Yoyo, who spoke in response to my annoyance, his face twisting in irritation, almost mirroring my very expression.

It wasn't till Yoyo's outburst that the two had stopped, and… "Don't! My gosh. Use a rubbing alcohol to get rid of permanent ink. That's common knowledge." My hands reached out in futile efforts at Billy, who had used his saliva to wipe the glass, and if it wasn't obvious, I have that panel of glass committed to memory and am never stepping anywhere near it again. Having been beside Lyle the whole time to work on the strategizing, I sat on the nearest armrest while Stuart plopped down on the same seat, with my back facing him. Enthusiasm in their little story was only apparent in the pair as the rest of us tried (and failed) to digest their illogical little fairytale.

"Guys…" My arm flew up to stop Lyle from continuing when the Nooglers came up with their own version of story to distract the pair from us, that being said, they were sent to Stanford in search for a fictional character. That should give us enough time.

"Okay time to work. Stuart? Feel free to get your hands off my thigh now." Somehow, during the course of distraction, the brown haired boy had rest his arms around the chair which he and I were both seated on. His hands landing on my thigh at the action. "W-wha.." His hand withdrew as quickly as his eyes made contact with the situation, face reddening slightly while he diverted his fluster to the code in hand.

"Lyle? What's wrong?" My hands continued the scribbling on the glass (with whiteboard marker, for goodness sake), my eyes flickered to my partner. His face scrunched before his mouth opened, words that rolled off his tongue held a tinge of disappointment. "You weren't supposed to do that. To… To push them away like the other interns. You're a team manager too, you are supposed to help them. _We_ were supposed to help them. Just because they know nuts about these things, doesn't mean we should just… just…" Upon his speech, I could only watch. He was right, like always. Lyle had always played the part of conscience in our friendship. While I had no trouble doing what I just did, or hadn't done, he would be the voice of justice. The pang of guilt hit me harder than I would have expected before closing the cap of my marker, and grabbing my bag from the table.

"Wait, where are you going?" Stuart's voice called out just when I reached the exit of the room. "I'm going to find and bring the two idiots back."

**HALF AN HOUR LATER**

You know, despite it being my school, it was still a pain to locate two person out of the students that were there for Summer Programs. I had tried asking around, specifically for two old guys who obviously did not attend school here nor looked like they were capable of teaching the syllables, and no one had the answer. By now, my feet had went from casual strolling to brisk walking and somehow a feeling tugged inside me that told me I may be sprinting soon.

"Professor Xavier?"

That voice. That loud voice that one could probably (unfortunately) hear from blocks down the street. My head spun in the direction, my eyes squinted in the afternoon sun to locate the pair. While they approached the professor in a wheelchair, my feet took off into the sprint that was apparently anticipated. "No, don't. Guys he's no- Oh my god." The sprinting came to a slow jog giving my mind the time to process the situation. Wheelchair professor had just punched the both of them… One of whom got punched in a place no guys should be punched. My lips pursed, cringing at the inevitable pain before resuming my run to the old men.

"Oh God. Are you guys okay? I mean. I guess not, but. Oh God. W.. What do you guys need? Ice? Do you guys need ice? Because I can go get them." The words came out in the form of a nervous ramble with my hands hanging in the air in front of me, absolutely clueless on what I ought to be doing to help. Their struggled nod gave me the sign I need to get ice from the cafeteria, before rushing back by the two.

After what seemed like eternity for the males beside me, we managed to get back into the car that I had borrowed from Sid, with Billy volunteering to drive us back. I took the back seat while Nick sat in the passenger seat, still icing his… uh. _Injury_. Silence filled the car as we drove on, the awkward tension increasing by the second.

"You guys can… You know. Switch on the radio with that button." My voice started soft, immense guilt still coursing through me. Nick reached for the button, stopping mid-way when Billy spoke up. "No it's fine. We can talk instead." I fidgeted uncomfortably in my seat at his words before giving a soft hum to signify my agreement to the suggestion. After what had happened, I owe them this much, right?

"What do you think of us? Be honest." His question was genuine, and the sincerity of it all left me dumbstruck. As much as I wondered what had earned their spot in the program out the thousands of others out there, I wasn't near that heartless to give them the honest review of their performance. "I…" I trailed off, catching my lower lip in between my teeth while I thought of what to say. "It's okay. We understand." Nick replied, donning a kind smile. I blinked once, then twice, before submitting to staring at my fiddling fingers that rested on my lap. Like a kid caught red-handed.

"Don't look like that. Don't feel bad about it, we understand, really." Billy started, looking at me via the rear view mirror before continuing. "You know. We used to be good at something. Nick and I." The comment gained a chuckle from Nick, and a small smile escaped my lips at their interaction. "Oh yeah? Tell me about it." Speaking up with a little more confident than before, my eyes flickered between the two curiously. No one had actually asked about how they ended up auditioning for the internship, now that I think about it.

"You see. We were full time salesmen for watches… and part time cavemen as you've already witnessed. Our company closed down just when we were closing a deal, one that we thought would be _the _deal, you know?" A mere nod of my head in acknowledgement was all that was required in our conversation. The slightest sign of understanding allowed the man to continue. "When it did… Honestly, we lost everything. I lost my girlfriend and house, he… He had to work under a guy who had the most stupid tattoo on his face." "Neck, actually." "Well, same thing Nick. They are both places where a tattoo shouldn't be placed." Laughter erupted in the car, the tension dissipating.

My eyes held empathy and concern before enquiring further. "So you guys applied for this internship? Even if you didn't know anything about it? Why?"

It took longer than a few seconds before Nick had composed his thoughts and responded, a tone softer than when the conversation started. "It was our last chance, you know? To do something different? To _be _someone different? We aren't young like you guys. You guys are smart, you are young. You have a bright future ahead of you. And I believe I speak for both Billy and I when I say that we are proud to have you all as our team members. Regardless what Graham thinks."

Now, I wasn't always emotional. In fact, I was hardly, ever emotional or have tears pooling in my eyes. But I did. In that moment, I did. I flashed a wry smile before wiping them off with the back my hands, laughing at my own actions. "You know. I was an outcast when I joined the Noogle program too." I looked up at the pair, a bashful grin on my face as I started telling my own story.

"When I was 17, I was a typical, bored teenager who finds rules to break in their free time. My dad was a software engineer, so I _did_ grow up in such an environment. Well, long story short, I got caught for hacking into Google, and at that time, Mr Chetty had just been put in charge for the internship program. When he heard my case, he suggested for them to put me into it to see my potential rather than legal actions. It was a good thing I merely hacked into it and didn't do anything too destructive." I observed their reaction for a split second before continuing.

"I was like you guys during group pairing day. No one wanted a teenager with no official certificate for their supposed skills. I was in the team of outcast. Come to think of it, Lyle might have been on my team…" I trailed off at the thought before snapping back to the story. "Oh, we won by the way. That was why I'm here today and had been for the past four years. I got offered a fully paid scholarship to study at Stanford, which I am doing now, like Stuart, Yoyo, and Neha. It would be my senior year when I go back as well. But… it's tough. Impressive as it may sound, it was… depressing at the beginning. Being in the industry at such a young age, people just don't treat you with as much importance, you know? I had to earn that harder than the rest."

Gazing out the window to see the Google headquarters, with Sid at the entrance, my hand did a little wave before hopping out the car just when it stopped. "Thanks Sid." My arms reached out for a firm hug before facing my team mates. "Well, let's go have lunch! I've heard your conversation on the first day about the free food. So we shall stuff ourselves with them." Hooking my arms with theirs, we made our way back into the building.

The trip from the cafeteria to the benches was actually fun. Nick had tried to subtlety enquire about Dana, while I reciprocated by pretending I didn't know his true intentions. The laughter came to an abrupt stop when Stuart's voice sounded, evidently proud of the prank that we had pulled together. "Guys…" When Yoyo and Stuart had pretty much rejected them off the table, my voice reflected those of Lyle's when we had first started the prank. "I'll go with you guys." My feet followed the two men only to be stopped by Nick. "No, nono, it's okay Kaela. I'm sure the seat was reserved for you." His head jerked to the empty space between Neha and Stuart, flashing a strained smile. "W-wait. Go sit with that guy with the headphones. He wouldn't mind." Their eyes searched the crowd for the character in question, frowning in confusion before deciding it was safe to heed my advice.

"Didn't know you are all goody with them now." Stuart teased as I settled for the space in between. My fork poked around my food, before popping a meatball in my mouth. "They're not that bad…" Stuart jerked back at the sentence, the contorted expression reflected in all three interns, and a smile from Lyle. "You guys... Even though they didn't know anything, they did still try to help. Yea, they said a whole bunch of gibberish at the start, but they went to an unfamiliar place, to look for a total stranger because they trusted our words. And they really wanted to do something for the team. Lyle and I should've provided them the lessons to make up for their lacking knowledge." My shoulders slumped at my own incompetence, suddenly losing all appetite for a proper meal.

"Kaela…" Neha started, before letting out a groan. "What does Graham want now?" She continued. My vision followed hers to Nick and Billy's table, eyes narrowing. Stuart's hand rested on my shoulder, pushing me back down on my seat while observing the situation. "It's okay. He's probably just bragging about the win. They can handle themselves, don't worry." The words that escaped his lips were an almost whisper, loud enough probably only for myself.

…. Wait. "Wait, his team won the challenge?! Ugh. I mean, I didn't expect us to win with such a handicap. But them winning just infuriates me." By now, my arm was resting on the table, the palm of my hands supported the weight of my head with my eyes keeping constant contact to the other table. "Oh right, Kaela. Tomorrow's challenge is sports. Muggle Quidditch to be exact. Get ready your sports attire. Becaues we have an extra member, you will substitute one of the two." Lyle spoke up as his attention went back to the Chromebook. "Tomorrow? I can't, I have a sales meeting. And you know how these things are, I don't know what time I'll be done. I'm sure they will do fine. Billy has that height advantage over the rest." I replied, apologetically, as Stuart's head lolled back in a familiar gesture. All the rest seemingly submitting to a defeat before the match had even begun.

Well, guess we'll see how they do.

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**_Author's Note:  
_**_As usual, reviews and let me know what you think! :)_

_suttonsays: You said it, I heard it! Although, I still am working on it because writing long chapters still needs a little getting used to. Hope this chapter is okay though!  
Guest: Hahaha, ain't she lovely? :) _


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's Note:  
**__**** STORY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ****__**  
**_

_I do not own any of the characters apart from my OC, Mikaela Kaitlyn Marshall. Information provided (about Google, etc.) may not be accurate, please do not regard them more than just a detail in the story. :)  
__Thank you!__  
_

* * *

**Stuart's POV**

You know how sometimes, you get that feeling of absolute despair at the things that were going on in your current state of life, to the point of which you sincerely believed nothing could be worse anymore? Well, it can. It's always the case, no matter how rock bottom you were feeling in that moment. Trust me; I'm experiencing that first hand, right now. Saying the match was horrendous, was an understatement. We were being completely smashed and the game had only just started. As the Facebook message from Mikaela came in, with words of encouragement and enthusiasm for the team, my fingers instinctively reached out to respond with a snarky comment only for my head to be smacked during the game. It wasn't my fault the ball got taken away anyway, looking at the rate the game had been progressing, losing that one ball probably did no worse than it could.

The half time whistle rang out just as we were down by 7 goals… It might have been better if we had scored at least once. But we didn't. My hands reached to the top of my head, pulling off the beanie that had not been helping with the sweltering heat, before throwing it down beside. Defeat, I've accepted it. There was no way we were going to win, I mean, just look at my team! And of course, the life lessons of Billy and Nick would come in a form of a 80s movie. It had always been an old-school reference when it came to the two of them. My eyes rolled back before glancing straight ahead, trying to block out as much nonsensical attempt of boosting team morale as I could.

My breath hitched in my throat, and I was pretty sure my heart skipped a beat as an arm slung across my shoulders; the other had its fingers twirling my beanie. The familiar floral scent filled me as I looked to my left at the brunette, in her skinny jeans and loose graphic tank top, who had the biggest grin on her face. The only grin in our team actually.

I _honestly _do not have the slightest clue as to how she was doing this. Maybe she was the only pretty (gorgeous, really, but let's not tell her that) girl who would understand anything that comes out my mouth. Because she was as dorky as I am, maybe? Because… Maybe I have a chance? … Wait, that came out of nowhere. Of course I didn't like her that way. She's infuriating. I mean, yea, I preferred to hang out with her compared to anyone in the group, and we were comfortable around each other although all we did were fun bickers. But I didn't mind since she had a nice voice… and face… and hair… and… Oh God, what's happening to me?

"I saw the score. Man, you guys are really bad at this, aren't you?" Mikaela's teasing voice cut short the giant's story, as her head tilted towards my shoulders. She wasn't that tall, or short. Average, really. If she had tilted a little further, her head would probably have nicely reached my shoulder. Her fingers continued twirling the beanie as my eyes watched her new toy swirling in the sunlight. "Kaela! Join the game!" Neha's voice almost sounded like a miracle had just appeared in our eyes. I observed as the girl beside me shifted her weight uncomfortably, before giving a shy smile. "I… I can't. I'm horrible at sports. I…" Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth and she flushed at her confession. Surely I'm not going to let this chance slip me by? "Oh, Ms Perfect has something she's weak at? That can't be!" Mikaela's eyes glared dangerously towards me upon those words, her harsh exterior contrasting my grinning one.

"Looking at the score board, you don't seem like you're any better at it." Her sharp retort turned my victorious expression into a frown almost instantaneously, my previous grin made its appearance on the girl's face instead. "Well, right. Kaela? Uh, Billy and I had somehow forgotten a _tiiiiinnnnyyy_ detail that involves you." Nick's expression had exposed his lie; everyone could sense that the detail was probably not as tiny as he had hoped. Mikaela's arm removed its presence on my shoulder as she stood up straighter. Her inquiry of the supposed tiny detail came out in a whisper. "You see, that day during lunch…" Billy started, giving a cautious glance at the brunette before shifting her attention to Nick to continue. "Graham had a bet with us… But! You must know that we had utmost confidence in our team so we made it." With her brows creasing at the roundabout way of confessing their doing, she urged them to continue. "We may have… Kinda… Maybe…" "OH MY GOD, JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU GUYS DID." It was almost amusing to watch Mikaela's outburst, resulting in the grin I had at the scene in front of me.

"… You have a date with Graham if we lose this match."

The silence that came after was ironically deafening. My smile disappeared at the words, eyes taking a side glance to see Graham smirking towards us. No doubt he had figured out what was being said on this side of the field. "BUT we have something that we think would work against them." Breaking the ice and a new found motivation for winning crept in as we huddled together for the new strategies.

When the whistle sounded again signalling the end of half time break, I turned towards the field only to have a hand tugging my arm. "Look Stuart, you are the most athletic and best hope I have on this team, as much as I hate to admit it." Mikaela started, her eyes almost pleading. "Win this, okay? I don't want to go out with him." My arms now folded across my chest while I donned my own smirk, satisfied at the fact that she was asking me for help. It wasn't like I would let her go on that date anyway, but… "Huh? And what would I gain from that? Besides, didn't he already have your number? A date is just a step forward, no?" Her hands toyed with my beanie, before lifting it above her head and pulling it down. She was wearing _my_ beanie. I'm pretty sure I would have been gawking if she wasn't right in front of me, scrutinizing me with her narrowed eyes. "He doesn't have my number. I was just kidding the other day. But…" Her voice trailed off as her hand swiftly reached up to the back of my neck, pulling me down till I was at the same level as she was. "I will give you mine if you win this?" I could only curl my hands into fists when that soft whisper echoed in my ears.

… I'm sure she knew what she was doing to me. "Is that flirting I sense?" Trying to remain as calm as I could, although the rapid heartbeats were proving otherwise, I managed one last response before she pulled away, walking backwards like she had after our translation lecture. "Who knows?" The same wink, the same cheeky grin, the same girl. I shook my head in an attempt to rid the image of her in my mind, now with my beanie on her to boot while I got in line with the rest. I need to concentrate on winning the game… and getting her number. Wait no. Just winning the game, because… Because I want to win. Yup, that's it.

Lyle leaned towards me in my ready stance, new found determination reflecting in my very expression. "Someone's got a crush on Kaela~" Speaking softly in a singsong voice, his eyes flicked from mine to the girl on the side lines who had now borrowed (or stolen, judging by the angry looks) pompoms to aid her cheering. That simple action put an involuntary smile on my face, only to bolster Lyle's statement.

**Mikaela's POV**

Did I just… flirt… with Stuart? I think I did. I wasn't sure. It kinda just came out the way it did and… Well, let's just say I don't have a lot of experience in the flirting department. I think he wasn't appalled by it? Was he? I mean, he didn't look like he was… but Lyle spoke something to him and now both of them are looking in my direction. Oh God, were they talking about that little chat?

My panicked mode was getting worse by the second; I needed something to distract them and myself with. So really, you couldn't blame me when I snatched those pompoms from the cheerleaders of the other team. My voice was loud, and overly excited, I'm guessing. Looking at the scoreboard, Mr Chetty's questioning look towards me, his unconvinced look when I tried to flash my best smile and well, just all the exaggerated motions in hopes that I could cover up for the embarrassment I feel.

The bet about Graham had shook me up quite a bit back there, and really, I would rather have it been a bet with Stuart instead. And _that_ would have been an insulting comparison for Stuart, really. Graham was filled with motives; I could see it in his eyes. How he scrutinizes the people around before he approached them, trying to balance out if they were worth his time, if they had any use for him. Unluckily for me, I had caught his eyes while observing the match. His wink was returned with the roll of my eyes, and an absolutely mature tongue that stuck out towards him. I couldn't say the same about his smug attitude once the second half of the game started though.

My feet were bouncing up and down at each goal, voice screaming like a little girl at her first concert before flailing the pompoms around frantically at my team who was turning the game around by the head. At Stuart's blocking of the incoming shot though, you could imagine the adrenaline that was coursing through me at the point in time. Hence, I refuse to admit to the following statement that I had shouted out during then. "YES! STUART, YOU AWESOME, SNARKY, CUTIE PATOOTIE YOU." My wish for the last part to go unheard was hopeless considering what loud voice I unfortunately had when I wanted to. Graham had looked over at me the same time Stuart had. One with the dirty looks, and the other with a smirk and wink. I think it's fairly obvious which belonged to whom.

During the tie, golden boy who came dancing out had most likely been the most obscene thing I've witnessed this year. I cringed at the sight before leaning towards Sid as he sniggered at my reaction. "Sid, don't we have enough funds to get Snitch boy a new costume? A less disturbing looking one, perhaps?" His snigger now erupted as laughter before halting abruptly by the sound of an injury case. Weird, they weren't even playing; they were all as distracted by their new company to continue the game.

Of course, soon the mystery was unravelled by the result of the Snitch competition. My pompoms were left on the ground, and I found myself beside Sid in record time. Eyes widened and finger pointing at the Graham before frantically trying to get Sid to change the winner. "But Sid! He blagged1 Billy! That's against the rules; you have to call off that Snitch!" I was pleading, begging, even. Stuart had to grab me by the shoulders towards the group due to my persistence towards Sid's helplessness in the matter.

"Kaela, we're sorry. We shouldn't have made that bet." Nick apologetic voice reached me first before I lifted my chin. The team must have felt worse than me; they were the ones who had fought so hard in the game, while I just cheered. "No, it's not your fault. You had faith that we would win after all and… Yoyo, stop it. What are you doing?!" My hand gripped Yoyo's wrist when he… I really don't know what he was doing, but it didn't look fun. "Oh you weren't here. He plucks his eyebrows to… in his words, punish himself for his inferiority." Stuart replied with his arms casually slung over my shoulders while his hand made me release my grip on Yoyo. Speaking of, when did Stuart get his new found confidence, enough to sling his arms over my shoulders without permission? Lyle seemed to have noticed this too… and Neha… and really, everyone besides Yoyo who had stopped "punishing" himself at Billy's words.

Steered by the shoulders to escape the sight of Graham, and his sight of us, Stuart urged me to brisk walk through the mass of interns before we could be stopped. We weren't stopped, but we were spotted. "Hey! 7pm, tonight." My shoulders slumped in defeat and my left hand reached up to give a nonchalant wave. There was no way I was going to turn back to witness the arrogant look that was undoubtedly plastered on his face.

"… So you're going?" The voice was quiet, brown orbs looking down on me. "I guess? We both know he'll never give it up. Might as well get it over with." The only response I got was a soft 'oh', before my hands reached his, removing its presence over my shoulders. His expression went from shock, to confusion, and to embarrassment in the span of seconds. "I- I'm sorry, it's just that… Mr Chetty wouldn't be happy if he saw it… You're still under the Noogler program after all." Truth be told, I had missed the warmth as soon as I removed it, it felt… pretty comfortable.

… Wow, it's scarier when I hear myself think out loud at that idea. He merely nodded as we sat down with our food at the cafeteria, his hands toying with his phone again before setting it down on the table.

My eyes kept in contact with his phone, while poking around my food. Glancing up at an absentminded Stuart, the phone was in my hands after a swift grab from across the table. "Kaela. Give it back. I told you it is rude t-" Before he could finish his sentence though, I had shoved the phone back in the palm of his hands, my mission was done. "Did you… Is this…? But why? We didn't win the game." His eyes were glued to the digits that were now on the screen of his phone, lips twitching at the corners before looking up at me with a tilt of his head. "Oh you're right. Maybe I should just delet-" My hands reached towards the opposite side of the table, and he scooted his chair back immediately, phone pulling away from my reach before making a quick save of the number on his phone. "So… I heard someone calling me a cutie patootie just now." I could feel the heat of my face as my eyes snapped up to meet his, my mouth opened before curling back into a tight purse.

"Well… you must've heard wrong. Or the person who said that had to get her eyes checked. Or it was the girl behind me. Or beside. Or… OH, look at the time. Time to go! Cheerio!" Words rolled off my mouth on cue with whatever that came to my mind first, feet lifting myself off the seat before rushing out the cafeteria only to have footsteps and chuckling sounding right behind me. "Cheerio? Really?" At that comment, came the urge to dig a hole to crawl in it. I would never come out from there again. "But if it helps, I think you're a _cutie patootie_ too, as you like to call it." The statement was almost inaudible, against my ears. I could feel his breathing as the words came, my head spun back in reaction only to catch him walking away. As if sensing my gaze, Stuart turned back towards me, never stopped moving off in the opposite direction while he did, before shooting me a playful wink.

… Dude, that was _my_ move.

**LATER THAT NIGHT  
**_**(still Mikaela's POV)**_

"Nope, never Stewy."

This was probably the first time I had ever been glad to receive a project, or in this case, a Noogler challenge at night. The 'date' with Graham was rescheduled, and I was at least free for one more night. Paired with my new found freedom and the older males' utter hopelessness in apps and technology, I had to hide myself behind the computer screen due to the immense amusement I was trying to keep down.

Until the topic of employment was brought up, of course.

Lyle settled for the seat beside mine as we looked awkwardly at each other. It was never a comfortable topic for the both of us. While the others fret about the 'American Dream', we were living it. Almost. Google wise, at least. We were young too; I am even the same age as the younger interns in our group. I couldn't stop fidgeting in my seat as the conversation continued; it was as if by doing so I can get my emotional discomfort out.

Lyle reached his hand out to mine and gave it a reassuring squeeze. All I could do was squeeze back, knowing that he was feeling the same unease as I was at the pessimism in the room. We knew that whatever we try to say, it would backfire. After all, it was harder for our words of encouragement to be taken in better light by others. We had both learned that the hard way. Our hands remained that way, and Stuart's death stare on it remained fixated as well. It had taken me minutes before I realised his eyes on them, his eyes flickered up to meet my confused ones.

The intense staring was getting awkward, and I wiggled my hands out of Lyle's before turning back to the screen. If they had taken the liberty to send us their app without us having to dig for it, surely we could do something more with the information than moan about their efficiency? "What are you doing?" Billy's voice called out from behind me, head bending down to stare at my screen. "I'm on the backend system of Google, getting the downloaders' demographics for the other team's apps. Since they had so kindly linked us, I figured we could use the information to decide whom we want ours to target." Without a look spared to the man behind, my fingers danced on the keyboard before an arm snaked around my waist and my body was lifted off the chair. "H-hey! I was in the middle of that!" My arms flailed frantically at the sudden loss of ground. "Damn it, stop moving." Stuart's voice rang out before my feet landed back on the ground, his eyes narrowing down at me. "Billy and Nick insisted on going out and made me get you." It was all he said before walking off without me, eyes resuming focus on his phone. Guys do have serious mood swing problems too, don't they?

"Psst… Lyle, what is he saying?" My head leaned towards the curly haired boy as Billy interacted with the staff and customers at the Chinese restaurant. Stuart had so far, managed to avoid all eye contact and conversations with me, and managed to sit on the opposite end of the table. Eyes narrowing at his habit and close relationship with his phone, I could only accomplish an annoyed eye roll before picking my own and sending a text to him.

**1 Message Sent**

**Hey, update me on something. Why are you ignoring me again?  
****[Reply] [Close] [Delete]****  
**

Putting the phone back in the pocket of my jeans, my eyes observed the boy opposite. His eyes widened slightly at his phone, before chewing the inside of his mouth and… not reply me. I groaned inwardly before adjusting his beanie that was on my head. I've got it; surely he would want it back? He would have to be near me to do that, at least I could use that chance to make him talk… If he did actually want it back, that was. Reaching out for the bottle of beer, I took it in gulps before Lyle stopped me with a push of my hand. "Kae, you're drinking it too fast! You will get drunk easier like that. It's your first time drinking, so chill out on it." A groan left my lips before nodding at Lyle, shifting his hand away so I could resume. I wanted to say I could've sworn Stuart had finally spared me a glimpse in that moment but really, it might just have been something that was at the top of his screen.

One way or another, we ended up in a club. A supposed dance club. But I don't think dance clubs looked like these. I haven't been in one before but… I think… We were in a strip club instead.

"Lyle…" Uncertainty resonated in my voice, only to go unheard, his attention landed on the hostess and… Oh. My eyebrows rose at Stuart and their interesting interaction, feeling a sudden need for more alcohol during the walk to the table. The discomfort of being in such an environment escaped me while I took the seat furthest from Stuart, beside Nick at the edge of the half round couch. Yoyo's concerns had barely reached me as I grabbed a hold of the shot, downing it while Nick and Billy were in the middle of convincing. Their eyes widened at me cringing while the burn of the alcohol trailed down my throat, feeling the effects of it before breaking out into laughter at my first experience of shots. "THAT. WAS. AWESOME." Yoyo had seemed to have taken my first step as a motivation when he downed his, the table erupting in full blown hysteria.

I wasn't sure how much I had drank; only Lyle's constant failed attempts at making me stop. The lap dances didn't do well for my alcohol intake either. I stumbled out of the booth without the group's notice, all too focused on the activity that was going on there. Even Stuart. Actually, _especially_ Stuart since he was the 'lucky' one, apparently. But not that it was any of my business. It wasn't like I liked him, or that I was jealous. Or that I was going to the bar to down more alcohol without Lyle's nagging because I was overwhelmed with jealousy at the scene.

… Ugh, Stuart's an idiot.

Everything reached a point of fuzziness after some time at the bar. And the dance floor, and back at the bar. I was giggling, I felt light, although my feet didn't seem to work with myself as well as it did before we reached the club. "Hey gorgeous, can I buy you a drink?" My head turned lazily to the source of a voice, head tilting as I smiled at the man. He had ginger hair, and green orbs that never left my brown ones while he put on a sweet smile of his own. We were both on our sides, leaning against the bar counter, his hand extended while his introduction came. "I'm Alexander, or just Alex would do." Raising my brows at his outstretched hand, my hand reached out to shake it. "Mikaela." His grin stretched wider at my response, before bringing my hands to his lips.

As if on cue, a familiar voice cut the interaction between us, hand pulling mine back from Alex's lips. "Actually I think she's had enough to drink." My brows furrowed once again at the body that stood between the stranger and I, the broad shoulders clothed in a plain colored shirt. "Hey… We were talking." My words were slurred and my attempt at pushing the figure away was feeble. Alex poked his head around the obstruction. "No, it's alright, Mikaela. He's right. Here, I'm going to give you my number, maybe we can hang sometime?" I waved Alex goodbye, leaning my back on the counter while I stared blankly at the number on the paper. I wasn't registering the details at all, but I just got a number. Somehow.

The paper was snatched out of my sight almost immediately and thrown in my leftover drink. My head spun (a bad decision with the alcohol) and dizziness hit me like a bullet. My body swayed as I lifted my arms to keep my balance, giggling at my own silliness. "I need to find Alex. His number's all drenched now…" Fingers curling around the glass, my eyes carefully observed the contents, my mind wasn't in the right state and somehow the drenched paper looked really interesting.

"Damn it. How much have you drank? You just go around letting guys offer you drinks? How many numbers have you received? Or gave? Do you know how dangerous it is for you to wander around on your own in a strip club?!" The booming voice of the intruder caused a series of pain to my head, my hands reached out to hold it, trying to subside it while backing away from the source.

My backing away, and my feet's new found incapability to listen, turned into stumbling. Hands gripped onto my shoulders to stabilize me while my eyes took more than a moment to digest the brown eyes that were now staring at me in concern. "Oh heyyyyy Stuart. Did you enjoy your lap dance? Sorry I couldn't stay to watch." Even in a drunken state, the comment was still laced full of sarcasm. "Oh, I did dance around though. Maybe I should go dance now too…" My feet were beginning to step towards the dance floor before being tugged back forcefully by Stuart. "No, you shouldn't. Did anyone touch you?! Because I swear if they did, I wou–" "You would what? Get more lap dances? Ignore me further with no explanation? Intrude another of my conversation with someone who _actually_ bothered talking to me?" My glare met his shocked gaze, searching my eyes for something, a hint that I was just playing, teasing, joking.

My hands went over his to loosen his grip only for it to be tightened some more. "…Well, maybe if you hadn't been all touchy feely with Lyle, I wouldn't have ignored you! Or get that lap dance!" There goes the booming voice again. My head throbbed and my eyes squeezed shut at the pain in my head before reaching my hand up again to cup it. " I… I'm sorry. I just… You and Lyle… The hand holding. So I…" That, I've heard. My reaction? Scoffing at Stuart's comment, pushing his hands harshly off me before stumbling in the other direction of the club, towards the alternative bar. "Yea, because hand holding and lap dancing are _totally_ in the same league."

"Kaela… Kaela! Stop wandering off on your own! I've searched for you for the past hour, do you know how worried I was?!" I didn't plan to stop, not until I saw Lyle with Marie… or Marielena to be exact. My feet were glued to the spot and I could only stare blankly at the pair, still taking some time to digest the situation. "Kae? Don't scare me, are you alright? Do you feel dizzy? I can bring you out for some fresh air if it would make you feel better?" Stuart's voice brought me back as I pointed at Lyle, a silly smile decorating my face. "Lyle finally talked to his crush!" Gushing like how I did at Stuart's younger photo, the boy while holding me close by my shoulders looked towards the direction before dipping his head down to catch me eye. "Wait, Lyle's crush? So you two… you two aren't? But the hand holding…" "Shut up Stewy, I'm watching them talk." "No, Kaela, I need to know. Talk to me first… Please?" Ugh, who could resist those puppy eyes? Not when I'm sober, even more when I'm drunk. "Lyle was just giving me some reassurance, like a good friend he was. We weren't comfortable with the topic. Now shut up and let me watch."

**Stuart's POV**

Now. That felt stupid. For the whole night I had been drowning myself in my own sorrows, entirely convinced by the tight grip of Lyle and Mikaela's hands and their close friendship to boot, that they had decided to be a couple. From the lap dance, to the frantic search for a missing Mikaela (whom no one had thought was a bad idea for her to wander alone). Who knew what that fancy _Alex_ would have done if I hadn't found her in time.

Mikaela didn't managed to watch for long before all hell broke loose, my hands instinctively held hers as I dragged her with me to the exit of the club, behind the rest of our friends. It probably wasn't a good idea having Mikaela move so fast in her state, her face paled and she could hardly stand up after. "Kae? You okay?" My hand lifted my beanie from her head, putting it on myself before brushing off the loose strands of hair away from her face, watching her tiny hands held her head, the other reached over to one of hers and removed it from her face. "I'm going to carry you, alright? Just go to sleep." With that, I managed to get her on a piggy back position, her eyes closed, head resting on my shoulder, her breaths in slow, steady rhythm.

"So… What about you and Mikaela?" Nick's voice broke my gaze at the Golden Gate Bridge, after our small chat earlier. Mikaela was now resting on the ground, her head against the bench that Yoyo had refused to give up. "Us? What about us?" I didn't make eye contact with the older male; he would see the excitement in my eyes at the thought of an 'us'. "Come on now, I thought we have just established a friendship here?" His voice held an amused tone, making me chuckle along with him. "I… I don't know. Really." I looked back to the sleeping girl, a small smile directed at her innocent profile.

"Let's see. You could only communicate with her without your eyes on the phone before today, you two instinctively get near each other for every meeting and you both got jealous at each other tonight. And you _don't know_? You are smarter than that, man." At Nick words, I could only watch, hoping he would continue. Because he seemed to know what he was saying for once, and I have no clue… For once. "Look, just ask her out. You like her, and I can tell she does too. Who did you think was the cause of her current state?" Ducking my head down to hide the smile, a soft punch on my arm by Nick before he returned to Billy's side, while I returned to Mikaela.

"Kae? You awake?" A soft humming acknowledged my question before I scooted nearer to her, laying her head on my shoulder while I stroked her hair. "Can I ask you something?" Another hum. "Can I ask yo- No, I mean, may I… Wait, no, that's not right either. Sorry Give me a second." My eyes closed momentarily, before taking a deep breath. My head dipped down further into her hair before softly whispering.

"Would you like to go out on a date with me sometime?"

There wasn't a reaction this time. No humming sound, nothing. I briefly wondered if she had fallen back asleep, before she shifted in my arms, her head tilting up to look at me. "Your heart was racing when you asked that." That was the first thing she said, great. Now my face is heating up while she chuckled at my reaction. "Graham got a date with me by winning a challenge, although cheating." She started, her eyes searching mine for any signs of backing out before continuing. "I would love to… _if_ we win the app challenge. And if you would continue being my human pillow. Remind me to torture Yoyo when he sobers."

At the outburst of discussion of an app idea though, the brunette stirred in my arms, forehead creasing at the disturbance. My hand reached out to her ear, pressing her closer to me so I could block her other ear from the noise. It all came naturally as my head dipped down once again, my lips kissing the top of her head before soothing her back to rest.

Right now, this truly feels like the best day of my life.

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_**Author's Note:  
**__I'm sorry this took so long! My laptop broke down, so I had to do this on my friend's. It's a lot longer than what I expected but I couldn't find a good place to stop. I hope it isn't too draggy!__**  
**_

_Let me know what you think? :)  
__Also, I want to thank you all for reviewing and following me. You guys don't know how much it makes my day every time I receive a notification for them!__  
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_suttonsays: I'm so glad you liked it! Hope this chapter didn't get too out-of-hand-ishly long. I didn't have much time to check before I have to return my friend's laptop.  
__ChasingWolves: Hi! Thank you. So sorry this took so long. :)  
__Guest: Here's an update! Let me know what you think?__  
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1 Blagging: Grabbing another player's broom tail to hinder them.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Note:**__  
__**** STORY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ****_

_I do not own any of the characters apart from my OC, Mikaela Kaitlyn Marshall. Information provided (about Google, etc.) may not be accurate, please do not regard them more than just a detail in the story. :)  
Thank you!_

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**Stuart's POV**

She had no recollection. Nothing. Nada. No memory of what happened before she concussed on my shoulders.

SHE HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT ME ASKING HER OUT. SERIOUSLY, OF ALL THINGS.

"Nothing?! At all?! What was your last memory?!"  
"My God, will you shut up, Twombly?"

And now we are on last name basis. Someone hold me.

"Answer. The. Question."  
"You getting a lap dance."

... Great. In this case, she had missed out on pretty much EVERYTHING. I let out a groan as my head hung off the couch, laying on my back as Mikaela sat on the floor with hers on the same couch. It would have been cute and I would have smiled at how it resembled her innocent profile back at Golden Gate Bridge, if not for her lack of memory at our 'moment'. Ugh, I think my head is hurting more than my hangover now.

"Seriously, woman. Of all things, you chose not to bring your brain out last night." The blurt had inevitably hit a nerve in the brunette, and bundled with her hungover state, let's just say her temper got even shorter than it normally was.

"Well, _excuse_ me for drinking out of je-" As she snapped her head towards mine, our head aligning in an almost horizontal version of the infamous Spider-Man kiss, she bit her tongue in time. "Out of jealousy?" I teased as her face flushed, before turning into anger. "You wished I was jealous, Twombly." Her words came almost in a hiss, and as my eyes met hers, the look in her eyes had brought me back to the club... Before all was cleared and while she was still in a furious rage. This isn't going well for me at the moment.

My mouth opened to retort that she had, in fact, pretty much admitted to the jealousy, when Mr. Chetty strolled in. Instead of responding, I sat straight up from my position, my hand adjusting Mikaela's head so she didn't give away with the look on her face that we broke the Noogler rule. Although, Yoyo wasn't doing much to keep it under wraps too.

"... Wait, what? We won? We won!" My feet sprung up from the spot. We won, which means I won a date!  
... _Oh wait_.

"Kaela. You really, _really_ don't remember anything? At all? Even the slightest?" My index finger made contact with her forehead as I prodded some more, sliding down to the ground beside her after Mr Chetty was gone. That man had given me dirty looks once when Kaela and I got close; I was still figuring out if it was because of the programme rules, or his overprotective nature over the girl in question.

"I swear I don't." Her eyes were closed but I could tell from the tone of her voice that she had meant it. She didn't remember. My hand reached for my beanie before pulling it out, fingers running through my hair before letting out a defeated sigh.

"Oh no. Dark and stormy Stuart is NOT coming back." The voice of Nick had me raising my brows, his head lightly jerking towards Mikaela before looking at me again. "It's something we call drunk teleportation. Yes, everything was forgotten and most probably permanently. But... You just have to try again. You got your answer yesterday, right?" I knew what he meant by answer. It wasn't just the fact that Mikaela had agreed to go out with me, it was the fact that she was jealous. That she had even had that emotion, towards me in the first place.

"Ms Marshall? Your appointment with Mr Fischer is c-" "OH MY GOD. My appointment with Mr Fischer, I had completely forgotten about it. Oh God oh God." The sudden outburst from the brown eyed girl had everyone snapping up at her, her frantic movements around the room trying to gather what she supposedly needed and failing. My feet instinctively stood up to help her, but the receptionist who had walked into the room spoke before I could take a step. Her expression had turned from calm, to shock at Mikaela's actions, back to being collected again.

"Ms Marshall, MS MARSHALL!" Mikaela dropped her files at the voice, her head spinning around with widened eyes like a girl caught red handed. "It's eerily coincidental, but Mr Fischer had called in to say he thought you wouldn't be able to attend it today. He asked for you to rearrange and give him a call. Here's his name card and some... Gifts that he had me help to get."

By now, confusion had overwritten Mikaela's previous emotion, so had it for mine. Her hands stretched out to receive the items before muttering a soft gratitude while the receptionist nodded in acknowledgement before returning to her post. Mikaela returned to the couch we shared, hands now holding onto a hot cup of black coffee, a name card, and... Wait, is that aspirin?

Out of curiosity, my head peeked over her shoulder for a better look at the card while she downed the aspirin and took a sip of the coffee.

_Alexander L. Fischer_

... Alexander? And that number looks oddly familiar... Alexander...

"Omg Alex?!" My eyes darted to Mikaela's, trying to see if it had sparked any signs of recognition.

Nothing.

"You know him? I haven't even met him." Uh, Earth to Mikaela, yes you had. But it _was_ eerily coincidental. How they met in a club, how he happened to know it was her though the two have never met? My hand reached to take the card, the others had taken Yoyo to rest and clearing the room for my sake. "This guy, hit on you last night while you were dead drunk." My hand flicked the card around, and there it was. A message written, taken by the receptionist if I had to take a guess.

_'I didn't get a text, so I'm guessing your friend got a hold of my number instead.'_

"My... Friend?" I merely nodded at her question, eyes burning holes in the card. "That's me if you were wondering. Also, you had pretty much admitted to being jealous last night."

"... Oh." It was her only reply, her hands snatched the name card off mine and her feet had taken a quick escape from the room.

... What just happened?

**Mikaela's POV**

I am swearing off alcohol. The lack of memory from the night before had done more than its part in bugging the world out of me, and the new information provided by Stuart had almost equated to my confession of love to him or something along the lines.

My head. Ugh.

The sense of betrayal, the image of him in the club was still fresh in my mind, but what had happened right after, I don't remember. Sure I remember getting drinks at the counter alone, dancing with strangers, but they were all in snippets; never in full details.

And then there was Mr Fischer. I could see from Stuart's expression that he felt it weird too. How did that guy knew who I was and my face in the first place? Not unless he did some research of his own, I'm guessing.

But most of my thoughts channeled back to another person. Stuart Twombly. It wasn't possible that I liked him. Infatuation, maybe? Wait no, that's pretty much admitting to liking him too. He had seemed so desperate for me to remember last night too. Oh my goodness, nothing happened right? Like... No. I woke up fully clothed in my room. Nothing could have happened. Lyle wouldn't allow it, I'm sure. So then, what-

"Keep your eyes on where you're going, or you are going to hit the pillar." A sudden hand covered my forehead from behind just as a pillar appeared in millimetre's distance from my face. The English laced accent though, I knew very well. Though, I don't think we shared the same amusement he apparently held at my current state. Especially not with my head pounding like that.

"Thanks." The terse reply of mine was followed by the plucking of his hand off my head, sidestepping, and proceeding back on my original route. But the guy was relentless. "I do believe you owe me something. Something like a number on a calendar? Like, I don't know, a date?" The last word had him blocking my path, his back arching down a little and his face donned a playful grin rather than his usual smirk.

"Ugh, leave it, Graham. I'm not in the mood for games now." And I wasn't. My hand reached to the sides of my head before rubbing them in circles. My other brought the coffee to my lips, desperately hoping the effects of aspirin would kick in soon.

"Hey... Hey, are you alright? You look a little paler than usual." The tone was surprisingly gentle, his hand plucked mine out of my face before both of his hands combed my hair back from each side, tilting my head so my eyes would meet his. The look of concern in his eyes as it darted between mine, weighing out how bad the state of my health was, was almost... convincing. To be honest, I was stunned by the gesture, it was sweet and unlike the usual arrogant genius reputation he held.

"Have you been resting? You should drink plain water instead of coffee to sooth the headache. You might be dehydrated." Yup, this was definitely not the Graham I was used to seeing around. Once snapped out of my state of trance though, I have a small smile, mouth preparing to spill a nicer conversation than before before his eyes caught something behind me. His expression hardening and back to its usual look.

With my head turning back, his hands slowly released me, standing back to his tallest again. "I guess I will see you around then." The sentence was said in a soft whisper, before footsteps going away from the other pair sounded. My eyes locked with Stuart in a stare off of who was more confused about what had just happened.

"Before you ask, or come up with a snarky comment, I have no idea what just happened either." Somehow, I had a feeling that he was jealous and another strange feeling of dejavu. Like, he had been jealous before, of me in close contact with another, and if I don't find a way to somehow explain myself, he would be winding up in another lap dance, or me in another case of being ignored.

All I got though, was nervousness as Stuart approached me, his face still reflecting the same as it did seconds ago. His hand grabbed mine before dragging me to the nearest unoccupied meeting room with a swift 'We need to talk.'

Those four words were as nerve-wrecking as it could get, topped with the enclosed area and closed off curtains. My eyes kept its contact and fingers playing with the coffee cup as I sat on one of the couches, legs lifted up with knees to my chest. Somehow it had felt like that day, years ago, in another meeting room at Google when I was caught for hacking.

"What did he want?" It was the first question since the space beside me sunk with the weight of Stuart. His voice held a tinge of protectiveness and... Possessiveness? At least, it sounded like that. "Uh. He was checking if I was alright. Told me to drink water than this coffee... For my headache." A voice in me told me it wasn't a good time for witty remarks. My eyes looked up timidly at Stuart before poking him on his side to get his attention, while his eyes were fixated on the floor.

His reaction?

"Ah! D-don't do that. It, uh, it hurts." He had leapt out of his seat, before settling down again. My eyes now lit in amusement, the effects if aspirin had finally kicked in and my cup of coffee found its place on a nearby coffee table. "Is little Stewy ticklish?" My fingers now taunted as it swirled around, drawing imaginary circles inches away from his sides again and watched as he wiggled in discomfort, trying his best to stay on his spot.

"At least try not to look like you're having fun with this?" He hissed, but not for long. I had launched attack on him as his involuntary laughter echoed through the room, hands trying to get a hold of mine. He never managed to do the latter but seeing as he was probably going to faint from lack of oxygen, I stopped. My face flushed red from laughter of my own, chuckles sounding with pauses in between.

In a swift motion, my head was suddenly caught under Stuart's arms, stuck in a headlock. My arms flailed and I tried to wrestle... Or wiggle, my way out of it. "Awww is little Kaela stuck?" With my head under his horizontally, resting against his chest, I stared daggers to the side. "Let go of me or I will tickle you!" "Ooohhh. Scary. I'm going to have to prevent that now." And with that his other hand grabbed both of mine and I had to resort to kicking around furiously with Stuart laughing at my misery.

For a while I just laid there, exhausted all my energy during the struggle. My eyelids felt heavy despite the coffee, and the arms around me slowly retracted its presence. A kiss to the top of my head, an arm around my shoulders and fingers stroking my hair, playing with strands of it while it did. My head snapped up to meet Stuart's astonished gaze. "I thought you were asleep!" "I was _falling_ asleep. But not the point. _That_ felt familiar." "Of course it did, I did that just last night and asked you out but you forgot all about it along with _Alex_." His eyes rolled at the name of Alex before meeting mine.

"You asked me out?"

"... Yea. You agreed too, if we won the app challenge." And suddenly everything pieced together, his exasperation for me to recall what happened, him sneaking a kiss to the side of my head this morning, and then another just now as I was falling asleep. "I... I'm sorry. I really didn't remember any of it. But... A promise _is_ a promise." I spoke almost hesitantly, my head tilting down to catch Stuart's who had resumed his relationship with the floor. Not his phone, surprisingly. The grin on his face though, was... too adorable for words.

"You know what? Actually, you promised me a kiss too. But seeing as you can't remember, I will let you get away with one on the cheek instead." His head tilted to his left, a childish smile on his face as his body turned to face me. I could only blink, several times, swearing to myself over and over in my head that I was never going to go near alcohol again. Words refused to form, and I cursed myself for saying 'a promise is a promise'.

Everything happened a tad too fast. One moment, I was leaning in, tilting my head towards his cheek, and mind you I wasn't doing that in slow-mo either. But the next, he had turned his head towards me mere milliseconds before my lips were due to make contact with the cheek.

... And that was how we kissed, for the first time. Although really, it was more like a peck. But... Still...

"STUART TWOMBLY, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT." The look of horror must had been obvious, because the element of surprise was still locked on Stuart's features. He seemed to have a hard time processing what just happened. My fingers flicked his forehead playfully, then wiggling back and forth at him. "Chetty is going to murder you if he finds out. He behaves more like a father than my actual father. You're dead."

"... I regret nothing." His lips twitched up to a full grin seconds later, regaining from his shock. "But before I die, let's go out tomorrow. We have three days break from challenges. Let's go out... On a date?"

**THE NEXT DAY  
****_(still Mikaela's POV)_**

Okay, firstly, I forgot how I ended up agreeing on the date which was happening... In about 10 minutes. But I did, and was strangely excited about it. Through the meetings that day, I was in a better mood than normal. Although lunch with Mr Chetty was like walking on a field of land mines. I could've swore he knew about our plans with the questions he had been directing at me. His fatherly nature never fails to make its presence whenever I was in question.

I haven't been on a date since... A long time. I had called Marie for advice on what to wear, what to do, while keeping Stuart's identity a secret. While Lyle had trouble speaking to Marie, I was great friends with her after the continual dance sessions I attended. I couldn't ask Dana for advice because knowing her, she would question to the letter about my activities for the night. "You sure this isn't too casual?" "Yes, Kaela, it's perfect. He did tell you to dress casual right?" A soft hum escaped me, while I checked myself again in the mirror. My natural waves were brushed through and neater than normal. A long sleeved, navy knitted top paired with a simple black skater skirt, topping off with my favourite flat leather ankle boots.

... Gosh I'm such a girl.

The soft thumping at the door had me frantically hanging up the call with Marie, my hand reaching for my satchel before pulling the door open. "Graham? What are you doing here?" "I... I... Sorry, I just... Why are you all dressed up?" Graham being caught off guard and all nervous must had been a first. "Uh, I'm heading out for the night. With the intern programme having a short break and all." Avoid the number of people, avoid leaking the identity. His eyes darted to my outfit before smiling at me again. "You look amazing." A soft blush crept up to my face before darting down to check my outfit over again.

"I was going to ask you out, but I guess that would have to wait. Let me walk you out." I was on the brink of rejecting his idea, but my mind reminded that it would be suspicious when I was obviously all ready to set off. Graham being nice to me shouldn't be surprising at all, seeing as how I was apparently a worthy ally in his eyes. But it did. Somehow it felt different from when we first met.

The conversation from my room to the entrance of the Headquarters was surprisingly enjoyable. We talked about all things random, from the amazing playground that was Google, to the food we liked. When my eyes spotted Sid and Stuart, beside Sid's car though, I was stumped. What do I do now? Do I walk over and play it off as a friendly outing? Or pretend that I wasn't going out with Stuart?

With the wave of Sid's hand, I knew it was too late. Graham's analytic mind had already geared into action when I turned to him. "That's my call. I will see you around?" He stayed silent for a few moments, observing, before giving a small nod of acknowledgement. He went into the building while I slightly ran towards the pair, into the embrace of Sid.

"Have fun, don't smash my car. Keep your hands to yourself, Twombly. Kaela's like my little sister, so don't you dare." The Afro haired dude spilled warnings like it was part of a joke, laughing as he gave me another hug before sending us on our way.

"I can't believe you borrowed Sid's car." I muttered, though with full confidence the guy would never tell on us. "He owed us one for the Quidditch match. And he said going on dates is good for you." I scoffed at the comment before nudging him on the shoulders, watching as the sun began to set. "Don't push the driver, according to Sid, I'm not supposed to kill you. But anyway. Why was Graham with you?"

"He, uh. He came to my room, wanting to ask me out. But I already had plans so he walked me out instead." I could feel Stuart took a sharp glance at me before returning his attention back onto the road. "Hmmm interesting. Sid said you were popular, I never knew it could be true." My hand flew to my heart, feigning hurt, taking in a great amount of air while I did, before replying. "With the amount of interns for every intake, and me being closest to their age, and _them_ not being able to date each other, they really don't have a choice." I mused at the fact before looking over to Stuart.

"Where are we going anyway?"

A burger joint. I'm at, a burger joint, and they are serving me burgers made from Heaven. I had bounced a few on my seat while getting munching on them. Stuart chuckling while I did. Despite feeling bad about it, he had paid for the meal, insisting that if he didn't, this wouldn't constitute as a date.

As our hands linked, walking across the parking lot, we had our usual bickers. Laughter resonated as I tried to pull myself away, only to be tugged back with a firm pull from him. My stumbling was stopped by his arms over my shoulders and mine around his waist. It was fun, to understate things.

"Oh drive thru movie? I have never been to one of these!" "I heard." "Someone had been doing their research huh."

The front seats of Sid's car had no obstruction, meaning, we could fit a third person if we wanted. Or in this case, Stuart's sliding and his arms pulling me to him were made even easier. We both laid lazily against each other, car parked near the middle of the drive thru theatre as The Avengers started rolling.

Naturally, for the two geeks, it called for geek talk. Things like who was in the original Avengers, who we were hoping to see, favourite superhero, and the list goes on. "Are you sure you liking Loki had nothing to do with the actor?" Pulling me away slightly to catch my eye, earning one of my playful shrugs in return. "Well... He _is_ Tom Hiddleston."

As the movie went on, light chuckles were silenced by the sudden presence of his lips on mine, my hands, with minds of its own, linked themselves around the back of his neck as lips interlocked. It went like a broken record on repeat, kissing, to chuckles when we separated, into light pecks, and back to kissing again.

The road back was almost sad, even though we would still be in the premise. "That was... Fun." My lips curled into a smile as I spoke while the car was parked back to its original spot. My fingers played with those that were intertwined with mine at the moment. "It was. And so would it the next time." My eyebrows quirked at his words, amused at his new found confidence before pulling away my hand and out the door, leaving him with a simple "We'll see"

He had walked me back to my Google dorm room, admitting to his paranoia of Graham appearing again. His body leaned against the wall while I fiddled with my keys, finding the right one before opening the door and turning to him. "Alright, I'm back to my room! Go rest now, I will see you tomorrow?" Instead of an answer, the brown haired boy pushed himself off the wall and leaned nearer for a kiss, only for our moment to be interrupted by a familiar Australian accent.

My hand tugged him into the room and behind the door before hiding behind the half open door myself. "H-hey Dana. What are you doing up this late?" With Stuart hidden, he took a hold of my right hand, playing with my fingers before planting a soft kiss to the back of my hand. Clearly entertained by my fluster. "I heard you. Why are you back so late? And your face is flushed red... Did you go out for a drink?" "Uh, yea. Don't tell Mr Chetty?" "... Of course not, that man will give me a lecture on not keeping a keen eye on you. Oh well, better rest early, goodnight!" "Goodnight, Dana."

The door closed instantaneously with my back against it and my hand pulled out of his grasp. "Okay, you got to go." "Or I can just stay here for the night." "In your dreams, Twombly. Now goooo, before anyone else comes by." My hand reached his before pulling him out the room, the other landed on his shoulder while we were at the door way, tip toeing to give a peck on his lips.

"Thanks for tonight."

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**_Author's Note:_**  
_I wrote this on my phone because my laptop is not due to be back until a while later. :( I will edit any mistakes when it's back and reply to all your reviews then! It's hard to refer on this tiny screen. D:_

_As always, it will be awesome if you guys review! Ily all. :)_

**_EDIT:_**

_FallenAngelPrincessOfDarkness: Thank you, my dear! :D For commenting on both chapters, it really means a lot. :)  
Her Highness Gaki-chan: Omg you're too cute. Thank you so much! I won't let it die off as long as there's a reader out there. Promise. :) Ily, thank you again!  
BrittWitt16: All your comments make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I will try to update more often but ugh real life. D:  
suttonsays: Thank you! :) Stuart's mum and both Alex&Graham's intentions will make their due appearances soon. Not together, but soon. And I tried to clear up as much as possible. Hopefully it's less confusing. :D_

_For all the rest, if there are any parts that are confusing to you, feel free to drop me a message or something to let me know. Also, let me know if there are other fics you would like me to explore. I LOVE YOU GUYS. :)_


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